The Power of the King over SINS

Introduction:No one likes to talk about SIN today! We don’t hear a lot about repentance from sin, or a turning away from sin. And yet SIN is the number one killer in the world.

Forgiveness is found through repentance ­– turning from SIN.

In the Old Testament we read,

But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out. (Numbers 32:23)

You cannot hide your sin from the LORD. The Bible says,

The wages of sin is death, (Romans 6:23).

The Bible says,

If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. (1 John 5:16)

When John the Baptist appears on the scene for the first time, we read,

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. (Mark 1:4).

And when Jesus Himself began His public ministry we read,

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)

In the Book of Acts when Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost (on the birthday of the Church), we read,

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)

Even the Apostle Paul preached repentance from sins. We read in Acts 26:19-20,

19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.

The Bible says,

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,(Hebrews 9:27)

The point I want to make here is that we either deal with SIN today, or we will deal with it someday!

Pastor Adrian Rogers used to say often, “The Bible addresses one problem–sin. The Bible has one villain–Satan. The Bible has one hero–Jesus. The Bible has one purpose–to glorify God.”

And we see all of this in Matthew 9:1-8. We are going to witness – The Power of the King over SINS.

Get this down – Jesus Christ is the answer to man’s SIN issue.

Now, let’s get into our text.

I. Jesus crossed over and came to His own city – 9:1

1 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city.

Why did Jesus get back into the boat so soon? Because He was rejected by the city people in the Gergesenes (8:34). The people refused to see the work that Jesus had done in the life of the two demon possessed men. They were only concerned that they lost their income from the pigs that had run into the sea and drowned.

Jesus left their region. He got back into the boat, and He crossed back over to his own city. His own city of course is Capernaum (See 4:13). This city was the ministry headquarters of Jesus Christ.

If you ever make it to Israel, make sure that you visit the city of Capernaum. It is an amazing place to see.

II. Jesus is brought a paralytic and He forgives his sins – 9:2

2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

We don’t read it here in Matthew’s Gospel, but over in Mark 2, we read that large crowds had gathered at the house where Jesus was. They were probably at Peter’s house again. There were so many people that no one was able to come through the front door. People were even gathered outside the windows looking in. Jesus was back and the crowds congregated to see Him, hear Him, and see the miracles that were associated with Him.

In verse 2, we read,

Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed.

Mark’s Gospel tells us that four men were carrying their paralytic friend on his bed, and that they sought to get him before Jesus. They believed that if Jesus saw him that He would heal him. But how were they going to get their friend before Jesus with such great crowds of people?

All of us need this message – GET YOUR FRIENDS TO JESUS! No matter the cost.

These four men came up with ingenious plan. They carried him to the roof. Most homes had a staircase leading up to the roof on the outside of the house. People used their roofs as porches for entertainment. These men carried their friend up the stairs, laid him down, and began to cut through the roof of Peter’s house. And after creating what they believed to be a large enough hole, they began to lower their friend down with ropes attached to the four corners of his bed.

I remember reading some time ago about what must have been going through the mind of Jesus and the crowd when they saw pieces of straw, dust, and roofing materials begin to fall from the ceiling. Perhaps the crowd was thinking, what’s going on here? I have no doubt that Jesus already knew what was happening. Here comes this guy being lowered by ropes laying on a bed.

Our verse reads,

When Jesus saw their faith,

Don’t you think it would take faith to cut through your neighbor’s roof? Jesus saw the faith of these men. Jesus saw their faith in action. I believe that Jesus saw the faith of all five men.

Mark 2:5 reads,

When Jesus saw their faith.

The faith of those who brought their friend to Jesus, and the faith of the friend to permit them to go through such actions on his behalf. These guys had an expecting faith. They had an engaged faith. These guys were not going to allow anything to get in the way of bringing their friend to Jesus.

God help us today not to allow anything to get in the way of bringing our friends to Jesus Christ.

When Jesus saw their faith, He spoke to the paralytic and said,

“Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

I can only imagine what was going through the mind of the paralytic at that very moment. What? I didn’t have my friends carry me here to have my sins forgiven, no, I wanted my body to be healed. I want to walk again. What is this stuff about my sins being forgiven?

Jesus saw something that we don’t always see in people. This paralytic had a spiritual need that was far greater than his physical need. This man was weighted down by his sins (plural – his many sins). It may be possible that he was a paralytic because of his sins.

Car Accident on Hwy 57

Many years ago, there was a young husband in the church here. He decided one night he was going to go out and party with his friends. They went up to Priest Lake and they sat around and drank more than they should have. One the way down Hwy 57 that night the driver ran off the road, the car flipped through the air, and the husband from this church was ejected from the car. His body was beat up, and he ended up in leg traction. He told me that he knew he was in the wrong place and with the wrong crowd. One bad choice can lead to a lifetime of regret, or even death. Had this man died he would have left behind two children and a wife.

Jesus speaks both a hope and a future into this man’s life. He says to him,

“Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

Is that what this man wanted to hear? Probably not. What he wanted to hear was,

“Arise, take up your bed and walk.”

He was not expecting Jesus to forgive him of his sins. And yet that was his greater need. It is all our greater need.

III. Jesus is accused of blasphemy – 9:3

3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”

Jesus’ words put the religious people at odds with Him immediately. They said within themselves that Jesus was speaking blasphemy. Why did they say this? In their eyes the only one who could forgive a person of their sins was God. They knew that Jesus was claiming Himself to equal with God.

In Mark 2:7 it is recorded that they said,

“Who can forgive sins but God alone.”

They understood the claim that Jesus was making when He forgave the paralytic his sins. They knew that Jesus was claiming to be God.

Keep in mind that Jesus’ deity is on display here in Matthew chapters 8-9. Liberal Bible teachers (which is an oxymoron in itself) claim that Jesus never said that He was God. Well, He didn’t have to verbally claim to be God – His ACTIONS showed that He was God! This is what these miracles are all about. The KING has power, the Messiah is among them. The evidence is overwhelming. It’s undeniable. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. God is among them!

IV. Jesus knows their thoughts – 9:4

4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?

Here is another insightful truth about Jesus Christ. Like God, He is omniscient (All Knowing). He had the ability to see into hearts. Jesus knew exactly what these Scribes were thinking – just as He knows what you and I are thinking at this very moment in time. (What are you thinking? Don’t answer that question).

Why the heart? Because everything about life originates from the heart (Proverbs 4:23). Jesus taught,

for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, (Matthew 15:18-19).

And it was true with these Scribes. And it is true for all of us today. Everything about life flows from the heart. Jesus knew what evil was in their hearts.

One author penned, “Some of the saddest people in the world are religious people who are unable to celebrate the salvation of another individual.”

These Scribes are unable to rejoice in the fact that this man’s sins were forgiven. All they could do was to think up some evil in their hearts towards Jesus.

V. Jesus questions the Scribes – 9:5

5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’?

Jesus asked the Scribes a question. Is it easier to tell someone their sins are forgiven, or to heal someone? Clearly it is a lot easier to tell someone that their sins are forgiven. You can’t see that. But what about healing a paralytic? That is observable. You can tell whether a person has been healed. He is up and walking. So, it is much easier to tell someone that their sins are forgiven, then to say take up your bed and walk.

> to the <

As I look at this section of Scripture, I see what I call the Greater to the Lesser – > to the <. The Greater is having his sins forgiven. The Lesser is having his paralysis healed.

VI. Jesus has the power on earth to forgive sins – 9:6

6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

Jesus demonstrated His authority and His power! Jesus has the power to both forgive a man his sins, and to say to the paralytic,

“Arise, take up your bed, and go to your home.”

Now, Jesus gave the Scribes something to chew on for a while. Jesus not only forgive the paralytic his sins, but he heals the man. Two things transpired - a cleansed soul, and a whole body. This is the power of the King!

VII. The crowds glorified God – 9:7-8

7 And he arose and departed to his house. 8 Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

You have got to love this scene. The paralytic arose and departed to his house. What must it have been like for this man to walk again? To be made whole, to be made complete, and on top of all that, to his sins forgiven. What a good day for him! He was made whole both spiritually and physically.

All miracles are for one purpose – that God be glorified. This is what we see happening at the conclusion of verse 8,

And when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

Application – Whether God saves you and washes away your sins, or whether He heals you physically make sure that you encourage people around you to glorify God. Salvation and Healing come from God. Acknowledge it!

I absolutely love what it says about this miracle in Luke 5:26,

“We have seen strange things today.”

This whole account is strange:

· Jesus and His disciples.

· The large crowds around Peter’s house.

· The four men carrying their buddy.

· The four men tearing into the roof.

· The lowering of the paralytic on his bed.

· Jesus seeing their faith – the faith of the five.

· Jesus forgiving the paralytic his sins.

· The knowledge of Jesus about the thoughts of the Scribes.

· Jesus showing His power by healing the paralytic.

· The Paralytic taking up his bed and walking.

· The awe about the multitude.

· God being glorified.

Conclusion: What are the take-home truths from this miracle? There are ten of them. They are:

1. Follow Jesus wherever He takes you.

2. Bring your friend/s to Jesus. They do have a need. Physical or spiritual.

3. It’s more important to have your sins forgiven than to be healed of some physical infirmity.

4. Healing is always determined by God’s sovereignty.

5. People do not like it when Jesus proclaims His deity. This is true even today. God is okay, Jesus not so much.

6. Jesus knows the hearts of people – He is Omniscient (all-knowing).

7. Forgiveness needs no outward sign, whereas physical healing requires some evidence of a change.

8. Jesus both forgives and heals.

9. Physical healing brings glory to God.

10. Spiritual forgiveness of sin should also bring glory to God.